When we start talking about China next week, I will stress the theme that in order to start to make sense of China, you need to understand the importance of three things: it’s big, it’s old, and it’s changing.

NPR broadcast an interesting story today underlining the point that China is indeed old. The report describes a 13th century merchant vessel, raised from the ocean floor and now housed in a museum in southern China. It’s worth reading.

P.S. I have just come across another article that is related to some of the issues we will discuss regarding China. It deals with China’s ethnic minorities, and in particular the case of Xinjiang. There is a question on the exam – which I hope you with think about even if you don’t choose to answer it – about whether China is an empire rather than a country. This question refers not to China’s international ambitions as much as to its control over ethnic minorities, such as those in Xizang (we know it is Tibet.)

Marcella Michaud, Regional Advisor for Central Asia and the Caucasus in the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, and
Robyn Kerr, Disaster Operations Specialist for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, both in the U.S. Agency for International Development,
will give a talk on the agency and its role in development initiatives, humanitarian response, disaster risk reduction, working with internally displaced persons in natural disasters and conflicts zones.

I have added a new question to the Geog 307 exam, and you can download a pdf copy of the exam here.

The update also includes a change in the location of the .kmz file which you will need for Question 4. If you have trouble downloading this file, let me know and I will e-mail it directly to you (I found that if I try to retrieve the file using the Safari browser on my Mac, I get a screen of gobbledygook. If I use Firefox, it works fine.)

National Public Radio today began broadcasting what seems to be a very good series perfectly timed to go with our discussions of Southeast Asia. Please visit the NPR website, read or listen to the five short segments that will be posted during this week, and take a look at the video segments that go with them. Be ready to discuss them in class.

Yesterday morning (Tuesday February 9) I sent out an e-mail to everyone in the class to let you know that we wouldn’t be meeting. Evidently the message fell victim to the vagaries of the UMW e-mail system, and some of you didn’t receive it (A message I sent to another class yesterday took about eight hours to arrive.) I apologize to those of you who trudged out in the snow and ice to a class that didn’t happen.

I sent out another e-mail to everyone this morning, but in case it too didn’t make it, I am posting it her

To: All students in Geog 307

I wrote to you yesterday promising an assignment in lieu of class, and I apologize for not delivering sooner. The assignment I am going to ask of you is simply that you make sure that you have done ALL of the reading and video viewing listed on the Course Calendar for tomorrow’s class (which is really Tuesday’s class, postponed) and that you come to class ready to talk about it I really would like to have a discussion tomorrow rather than delivering a sermon!

This has been a week of disruption and upheaval, especially for the Geography Department. Our temporary accommodation in Annex B (while Monroe Hall is being renovated) turns out to have been somewhat more temporary than we had thought. The roof started caving in yesterday, and we were banished from the building, computers were hastily taken to a safe location, and wooden beams were rushed into the building to prop up the roof. At this stage, we are not sure how long repairs will take and when we will be able to move back. For the moment, though, Geography faculty are refugees. This is a long-winded way of telling you that, although I fully intend to hold office hours tomorrow, I am not sure exactly where my office will be. If you have any questions, either send me an e-mail or see me after class. I will keep you posted on any future developments.

I mentioned in class yesterday that I would like you familiarize yourself with the country of Cambodia before we discuss the country in class in a few weeks from now. Specifically, I would like you to read and be ready to talk about a book about some aspect of Cambodia’s geography, history, culture, or politics. Here are some suggestions (most of them deal with aspects of genocide under the Khmer Rouge, 1975 – 79.) This list is not exhaustive, so if you come across any other book like to read instead, please let me know.

As we discuss Malaysia in class, I recommend that you read something about two stories currently or recently in the news from that country. The first is the dispute over the use of the word ‘Allah‘ by Christians in Malaysia, and the second deals with the sodomy trial of a leading opposition politician (See the coverage of this on the websites of BBC News, the Christian Science Monitor, as well as the Malaysian newspaper the New Straits Times.) Both issues are controversial, and both highlight cultural and political divides within Malaysia.